PowerPoint Summary of: Culture and Conflict

1. PowerPoint Summary of: Culture and Conflict

2. Slide 2: • Culture shapes our… • Perceptions • Judgments • Ideas of oneself and others • Each of us belongs to multiple • cultures • Though powerful, culture often • operates unconsciously PowerPoint Summary of: Culture and Conflict

3. Slide 3: • Cultural Messages… • are what everyone in a group • knows that outsiders don’t • Consist of: • Starting points: assumptions, where we start our assessments of a situation • Currencies: those things we care about that influence and shape our interactions with others PowerPoint Summary of: Culture and Conflict

4. Slide 4: • Complications • Culture is multi-layered: What you see on the surface may mask differences below the surface. Thus, cultural generalizations are not the whole story. • Culture is in constant flux: As conditions change, cultural groups adapt. Thus, no comprehensive description of a culture can ever be formulated. • Culture is elastic: Knowing the cultural norms of a group doesn’t predict behavior of individuals within the group. Thus, taxonomies are of limited use. PowerPoint Summary of: Culture and Conflict

5. Slide 5: • More Complications • Culture is largely below the surface: It is not easy to access because it is largely outside our awareness. Thus, it is important to use multiple symbolic tools to communicate effectively. • Identities and influences vary in importance, depending on context: Misunderstood identities often become more important than others. Thus, interactive experiences should be pursued to limit misunderstandings. PowerPoint Summary of: Culture and Conflict

6. Slide 6: Cultural Fluency… means familiarity with cultures and their dimensions PowerPoint Summary of: Culture and Conflict

7. Slide 7: • Communication “Starting Points” • High-context communication --most of a message is conveyed by the context surrounding it, not in explicit words • Low-Context communication -- emphasizes directness rather than relying on context PowerPoint Summary of: Culture and Conflict

8. Slide 8: • Conflict “Starting Points” • Ways of naming, framing and • taming conflict • Naming -- refers to identifying what is and isn’t a conflict • Framing -- refers to • interpretation of a conflict • Taming -- refers to norms on how to resolve a conflict PowerPoint Summary of: Culture and Conflict

9. Slide 9: • Ways of interpreting situations… • or making starting points • For example: • Universalist cultures rely on rules and laws • Particularist cultures consider exceptions and context PowerPoint Summary of: Culture and Conflict

10. PowerPoint Summary of: Culture and Conflict • Slide 10: • Specific cultures examine specific situations, details, and outcomes • Diffuse cultures look at patterns, large-scale processes, and the “big picture”

11. PowerPoint Summary of: Culture and Conflict • Slide 11: • Inner-directed cultures see virtue in individual achievements, whereas • Outer-directed cultures see virtue in relationships and process

12. Slide 12: PowerPoint Summary of: Culture and Conflict